My Little Dancer!

Molly did such a great job at her performance last Thursday night! It was the first time she'd been on stage since December, so I was a little nervous...but she did great!

She kicked her legs...

She did the "fish"...

And shook her booty...

Here she is with her "hero", Margaret Ann...

Friday night, we went to watch Caroline in the primary school pageant. She was so beautiful & beat 32 other girls to be crowned Miss SPS. We were so proud of her. After the pageant, everyone came over to our house, and Eric & Shannon brought us all supper from Ware's. It was after 10pm before we finally ate supper & boy, did we ever act like a pact of wolves! We were starving!

They Are Wigglers...

Molly loves these little kitties....

Even when they're a little "wiggly"...

Hello Spring & Hello Pollen!

I'm so happy it is finally "officially" Spring! Unfortunately, with spring comes pollen which sends my allergies into overdrive. I've been suffering since the weekend...hopefully we'll get some rain in the next couple of days to wash some of this pollen away! We had supper with friends at Roscoe & Jeannette's house Friday night. Molly enjoyed playing with the other kids that were there & we enjoyed seeing friends we haven't seen in quite a while. Saturday morning, Molly & I went to her friend Ella Claire's 3rd birthday party! There was a huge inflatable obstacle course with a slide in the shape of a princess castle...Molly was in heaven! We headed over to the Mason's house that night for supper and to try out their new Wii game. It was really fun, despite the fact that I really sucked at playing darts! Sunday, Molly & Eric headed to the farm. I tried to stay inside as much as possible that day...my allergies were killing me! I went back to Dr. Sharkey's office yesterday. Allen removed the one place that Dr. Cormier had picked out in Houston. And, boy, did he ever cut a chunk out of my let. I have around 25-30 stitches under the skin & about 15 or so on the outside. Needless to say, it's a little sore today! After my appointment, I rushed back from Dublin to pick Molly up, because we had a Pampered Chef party to go to at Beth's house. She was waiting for me on Meme's front porch, squealing that she had a "burprise" (which means surprise) for me. Meme's cat, Cali, had 4 kittens & Molly was just amazed with all of them. She kept telling me "that big ol' yellow com-cat is the daddy!" She is so funny saying "com-cat" instead of "tom-cat" every time! Aren't they just precious? We have another busy week & weekend ahead of us. Molly is dancing tomorrow night at one of the school's Spring Flings. Then, we may head over to another school for "Pancakes, Pajamas and Storytime". Molly is excited to get to wear her pajamas to go eat pancakes and listen to bedtime stories. Friday night, we're planning to go watch Molly's friend Caroline compete in her school pageant. And, this Saturday will be Molly's first t-ball practice...I cannot wait to see how that goes! I will be sure to post pictures! Also, please pray for MckMama's baby, Stellan. He was diagnosed with heart problems in the womb, and doctors said that he would never survive the entire pregnancy or especially birth. He shocked everyone when he was born perfectly healthy and with absolutely no signs of heart problems. However, now at 4 months old, his heart has gone into SVT (beating about 300 times a minute) and he is in PICU. Please send up prayers for his little heart to be healed. You can read more on MckMama's blog by clicking the "Praying for Stellan" button on my right sidebar.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy "Patrick's" Day, everyone! (That's what Molly is calling today!) And, I promise you, she is on the lookout for people not wearing green...so beware! Eric & I had a great trip to Texas, but we are so proud to be back home! When we left Atlanta Thursday afternoon, it was 73 degrees and sunny. When we landed in Houston 2 1/2 hours later, it was 38 degrees and raining. Big change! After landing, we quickly caught a cab, checked into our room, changed into warmer (and more rain-resistant) clothes and headed off to the rodeo. We spent about 2 hours looking through vendor booths before finally deciding on something to bring back home for Molly and Braylon. We got them "real cowboy belts". Then, we headed over to Reliant Stadium to watch the rodeo and Brad Paisley in concert. Boy, did he ever put on a great show! Here's a picture I snapped on my cell phone as Eric & I were making our mile-high trek to get to our nose-bleed seats at the concert. See Reliant Center? That's where all the vendors set up selling their crafts. That is also where the 4-Hers show off their prize-winning cows, sheep, goats, etc... Now, do you see the 3 huge white tents down the center of the street? Those are the food vendors! There's at least 100 of them selling any kind of food you want. It is all so delicious!Eric & I try to attend the rodeo each March when I go out to Houston for my checkups. It is always so much fun & 100% of the proceeds go directly to Texas FFA and 4-H clubs. Even the concert singers donate their "performance" for free.

We started tests at 7:45 Friday morning. First was bloodwork, followed by chest xrays and abdominal scans. Then, it was off to meet to meet my doctor. By this point, my nerves were shot & we just wanted answers. And, we got them! Great ones! Dr. Cormier said everything looked perfect, and she was very proud of how close I was being monitored by my local doctor. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from shoulders & we are very thankful to have gotten such a great report.

After that, Eric & I had a five hour wait until we could catch our flight home. We were so anxious to get back home to Molly. Once we finally arrived in Atlanta, we hurried back as quickly as possible so we could pick up Molly from my parents before it got too late. She was excited to see us when we finally got there, but quickly informed us that she wanted to spend the night with mama and papa one more night! Oh, well...so much for hurrying home!

We spent the rest of the weekend resting & trying to catch up on our sleep! Shannon & Robin came over Saturday night for pizza. Cliff & Caroline joined us later in the night, and the girls had a really good time playing while the "big kids" played cards. Then, we hosted Supper Club at our house Sunday night, and it was great to see all of our friends again!

We are so thankful for my good report and to have such great families & friends to come home to! We love you all!

Houston-time!

Molly & I have spent the last couple of days with the virus...yuck! But, thankfully, we are both feeling a lot better today & have returned to our normal routines. Thanks to everyone for all of your well-wishes. Eric & I leave tomorrow morning for Texas, again. It is time for my annual check-up at MD Anderson Cancer Center. It's never a trip that I look forward to, but I'm particularly nervous this time, because my cancer has came back 3 times in the last few months. I'm taking all of my path reports with me, and I am in hopes that this doesn't mean that we're going to be there any longer than expected. Right now, we're hoping to fly back home Friday night if everything goes as planned. MD Anderson is probably one of the most humbling places on earth. It is a visual reminder of how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away. I never get used to seeing all the little kids with their bald heads. They are just innocent children fighting a disease that they have no way of comprehending. And, I see their parents who look so tired, so desperate and still so hopeful at the same time. It just breaks my heart, and at same time makes me so thankful of what I have. It makes me thankful that I have a healthy child and that my cancer was caught early so that I can stay here and watch my little girl grow up.

It won't be all torture while we're in Houston, though. March is the month of Houston's Livestock Show & Rodeo. It's a huge event they have at Reliant Stadium each year, and Eric & I really enjoy going to it. Each night of the month, they have a different artist in concert varying from Lynyrd Synyrd (which I wish we could see) to the Jonas Brothers. After looking through the booths, tasting all the great food, and watching the PBR rodeo, we'll actually get to see Brad Paisley in concert. We're really looking forward to this part of the trip.

Before I sign off for the week, here's a picture that I thought I was kind of cute....

The dog is sitting in the seat, watching where he is going. The child has her head hanging out the window with her mouth wide-open. Shouldn't it be the other way around??

And, Triton: I'm really sorry I posted a picture of you wearing a pink collar...please forgive me!

Gorgeous Weekend!

Oh, what a beautiful weekend we had! We spent last weekend freezing & looking for snow. But, this weekend was gorgeous with highs in the mid-80s! It was so great to enjoy being outside for a change.

Friday night, we went to the DEA pageant to watch Findlay, Riley and Margaret Ann. They were all so beautiful (and handsome)! Findlay got 1st runner up in the Little Miss group and Margaret Ann got 2nd runner up in the Junior Miss group. Molly & Rhiana really enjoyed watching all the girls in the pretty dresses and it gave Rhiana an idea of what it would be like at her pageant this Thursday night. Molly quickly decided that she wanted to be in a beauty pageant sometime, too!

Saturday morning, we enjoyed going to watch Caroline in the mini-olympics gymnastics competition at the Middle School. She did really good & got lots of medals. And, guess what? Now, Molly has put in that she wants to do gymnastics, too! Geez...like we really have a lot of spare time on our hands! That night, we headed back over to the Masons for food, fun & wii again. I know that sounds like our usual hangout on the weekends (& it is), but this time we mixed it up a little & played cards too!! :)

Eric left at lunch Sunday to go hunting with Tadd & Kevin. So, Mo & I had the day to ourselves. We started off on the Ranger...

Then we decided to go feed the ducks at the wet-weather pond some corn and wheat... Molly is so good at this... Until it gets boring to her & then this happens.... Oh, well! Now, there's a big pile the ducks and geese can eat out of. Then, we headed to the Cooter Creek Pond to throw rocks. This child loves to throw rocks in water...

"Look Mommy...this one look like a tater!" Then, it was back to the house for a quick nap & a trip to the Mart-Marts (Wal-Mart for those of you that don't speak Molly-ish). We bought some new spring flowers & planted them around the mailbox...planting flowers with a 3 year-old, now that's an experience. But, they turned out pretty!

What Happened To The Snow?

We, Shannon & Robin went over to the Mason's house again Friday for a night of food, fun & Wii playing. Are you starting to notice a trend here with Friday nights, the Mason's & Wii? I think the Mason's just may have to put their foot down & tell us to leave them alone & buy our own Wii...but, for some reason I just don't think it would be as much fun that way! Plus, Molly & Caroline play so good together & have also started wanting to play the wii with us, too...that's always interesting! That night, nobody could hold a candle to Eric's cattle racing skills, my pool skills, Cliff's shooting skills or Tracy's belching skills! Saturday night, we went to the Henry's clubhouse for a cookout. Most all of the hunting club members and their families were there to enjoy boston butt, wild hog, brunswick stew and all the fixings. And, boy, do those men have some tales to tell when they get together & get a few beverages in them! Shannon & Robin came over to the house yesterday and, we all kept our faces stuck to the windows of the house all day hoping to see just one flake of snow! Molly has never seen snow (except on TV) and yesterday looked like it was going to be our best chance of getting some this year. But, we didn't! We were so disappointed. Molly had already planned on making an entire "snow family" in the yard! Later that night, we headed over to the Griner's for Supper Club. We loved seeing their new house...it was gorgeous. Hopefully, Molly is now signed up for 3 year-old t-ball. This is going to be her first year playing, and I'm interested to see how she does. I really think (and hope) she'll like it a lot! I'm sure there will be many more posts to come on that adventure!